Challenges in three-dimensional (3D) printing of wood-derived biopolymers towards biomedical applications

The well-separated three main components from wood, i.e. cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, are considered as promising candidates for replacing and improving the properties of oil-based and animal-derived biomaterials. To date, three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is expected to revolutionize the utilization of wood-derived biopolymers to tailor them obtaining advanced materials towards high-value applications, such as bioplastics and biomedical treatments. Here, we present an overview of our recent works on utilizing wood-derived biopolymers, especially nanocellulose and hemicelluloses, with different 3D printing techniques and elaborate the key challenges, which arose during those approaches. Spruce galactoglucomannan was found to be a promising candidate to partially replace natural bioplastic i.e. polylactic acid. Different nanocellulose-based inks have been successfully formulated and fabricated to scaffolds targeting at biomedical applications, in particular, wound healing application.